


Don't Stop

by Gia279



Series: Practice Ficlets [5]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Ficlet, High School AU, M/M, Oblivious Derek, One Shot, Teenagers, new kid derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 04:21:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13733031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gia279/pseuds/Gia279
Summary: When Derek got paired up with Stiles the next day, he was relieved to be partnered with someone he knew that wasn’t a dick.Relieved.Derek was an idiot.





	Don't Stop

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** “Drama in and out of the lab”
> 
> This one is somehow ??? so much longer than the others. I got carried away lol sorry. I hope you enjoy it! I had fun writing it ahhahah

“So, class, get ready. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to partner you all up. Once you’ve been paired off, that will be your lab partner for the year. You’ll do all projects and experiments together,” Mrs. Alverez went on. “So I want you to get along. If anyone tries any funny business—like trying to force their partner to do all the work—you will feel my wrath,” she intoned, making the class chuckle weakly. “So,” she said brightly in an abrupt change of mood, “welcome to sophomore year! Go ahead and mingle for your last ten minutes.” 

Derek looked around the room. He didn’t know anyone here, and he wasn’t exactly a social butterfly. His family had only just moved to Beacon Hills midsummer, and the rest of the break had been spent getting settled in their new house and convincing Laura to teach him to drive in empty parking lots. 

Not exactly conducive to making new friends. 

He occupied himself packing up his bag, then, when that only took up two of the ten minutes, he took out his book.

“Hey, you’re Dylan, right?” someone said as soon as he opened it.

He sighed through his nose. “Derek,” he corrected, glancing up.

The boy next to his desk nodded. “Sorry, I must have remembered wrong. I’m Stiles, this is Scott.” They both smiled winningly.

“Okay.”

“What’s your book about?” Stiles asked. He slumped into the desk beside Derek, settling in like he was planning to stay. 

Derek looked at his book remorsefully. “Gay werewolves,” he said flatly, which was not entirely true. The only werewolves in the book were women. Though they were dating each other, so he wasn’t really lying. His gaze traveled to the line he’d been on when he’d been interrupted. 

“Cool,” Stiles said easily, not deterred or awkward like Derek had hoped he would be. “Haven’t read it. Are there vampires?” he asked with interest. 

“Um, yeah. The fanged kind.” Derek sighed and closed the book around his bookmark, resigned. 

“Vampires are the coolest.” That, for some reason, set him off chattering about a book he’d recently read.

Scott joined in after a second, and Derek decided that if they liked books, too, they couldn’t be _too_ bad. 

When Derek got paired up with Stiles the next day, he was relieved to be partnered with someone he knew that wasn’t a dick. _Relieved._ Derek was an idiot. 

It turned out, Stiles wanted to argue about _everything_ they did together. He micromanaged the hell out of each of their projects and all of their lab work. Far from trying to leave all the work to Derek, he was extremely possessive of his work, and hovered while Derek was trying to do his half, double checking everything he did. It was the most infuriating thing Derek had ever dealt with, and his sisters were Laura and Cora Hale. 

“You didn’t label the diagram correctly,” Stiles insisted, snatching a paper from Derek’s hands. 

“No, but there’s a key. The labeling makes it cluttered. With the key, it looks neater, and it’s technically still how Mrs. Alverez asked for it,” Derek pointed out. He grabbed the paper back, irritated, and started to put it into the project binder. 

“If it was labeled _correctly_ , it would still look neat, and it wouldn’t need a _key_ just to be deciphered.” 

“Make sure your written and drawn portions of your projects are all in order before you present,” Mrs. Alverez called as she sailed into the classroom. “Looking at my favorite duo,” she added pointedly. 

Derek flushed, and Stiles stopped trying to pull the binder from him. They both slumped in their seats. They may have caused a…minor…paper explosion fighting over their genetics project their fourth week of school. 

Scott had tried to save the innocent bystanders, but it was no use. Papers had flown everywhere, and Stiles had gotten detention for shouting “Fuck!” at the top of his lungs. He claimed it wasn’t so bad, but Derek had never had detention in his life, and didn’t plan to start because his partner was a controlling tight ass. 

“Fine,” Stiles hissed. “But if we get marked down because of-”

“I’ll tell her it’s all my fault that there’s a key instead of direct labels.”

“Good.” Stiles took a deep breath and Derek tensed, expecting more criticism, but Scott sat between them and distracted him.

Derek relaxed. 

Scott was usually able to redirect Stiles when he was being too much of an ass. 

They did well, anyway—they got a 98% and were only marked down because Stiles went off on an unrelated tangent during the presentation—and then they didn’t have another project for weeks. 

Which made it extra strange when Stiles texted Derek Friday afternoon. 

‘ _Want to get pizza @ Don’s tonight?_ ’

Derek glanced at his mostly finished essay, then back at his phone. He and Stiles had done three projects together, and so far, that was the only time they hung out. Maybe he was going with a group and invited Derek to be nice. 

‘ _Sorry, don’t feel like it._ ’

The reply was so quick that Derek suspected he’d sent it before Derek had even responded: ‘ _Scott will be there. Pleaseeee?_ ’

Derek sighed and told him he’d ask his mother. 

Stiles just replied with a smiley face and exclamation marks. 

Derek shuffled downstairs. “Hey, Mom?”

She looked up from the paperwork she was doing at the table and smiled. “Hey, sweetie. Everything okay?”

He grimaced. “I—a friend from school invited me out for pizza tonight, and I was wondering if-”

Laura’s head popped up from the couch. “Oooh, do you need a _ride_?” 

“You can go, if that’s what you you’re asking,” Talia said. “But your curfew is eleven.” She frowned thoughtfully. “I think. Brandon?” she called.

“Ten thirty for Derek and Cora, eleven for Laura, babe,” Derek’s father replied. 

“Oh. Ten thirty, then. Sorry. Laura can drive you.” 

“Can’t I just get a ride from that creepy guy who hangs out by the Rhino-mart? Or Uncle Peter?” Derek wasn’t sure which was worse, actually, but both were preferable. 

“Laura’s driving you,” Talia said firmly. “But she’s coming home after she drops you off. I have an errand for her to run.” 

“But Mom, doesn’t Derek need a chaperone?” Laura asked sweetly. “He’s far too young and innocent to be on a date all by himself!” 

“It is not a-”

“Stop teasing him, Laura,” Talia sighed. “You’ll come home, then, when he’s done, he’ll text you and you can pick him up. Derek, go get ready,” she added quickly.

Derek, spotting the expression of impending mutiny on Laura’s face, fled. 

She blasted The Spice Girls the entire drive, and dropped Derek off at the doors while it was blaring out the windows. He kind of wished he was an only child as he scampered from the car. 

“Hey,” he said breathlessly once he was inside. 

“Was that The Spice Girls?” Stiles asked.

Derek scowled. “Yes, but-”

“I love that song!” He beamed.

Derek looked down at the table. 

Stiles was set up at a booth, but he was alone, sprawled out on one end of the booth, a menu open in front of him. 

Derek swallowed thickly, nerves making his hands a little sweaty. “Where’s Scott?”

Stiles’s eyes widened innocently. “He’s running a little behind. He and Allison—you know, Allison Argent? She’s got Lit with you—they’re just late.” 

Ah, just as Derek thought. Group outing. He shouldn’t have let Laura wind him up. “How do you know we’ve got Literature together?” he asked, sliding into the booth across from Stiles. 

He squeaked, “What?” Then, “Oh, she mentioned it when she was, um, reviewing my part of the last project.” He bit his lip and tapped his fingers across the edge of the table. “Wanna look at the menu?” Before Derek could answer, he said, “Speaking of our last project, sorry for being a dick.” His face turned pink. “I just, I. I used to get kind of crappy grades, and now that my ADHD is, like, being taken care of, I’m really—I really want to make good grades. It’s important to me,” he said earnestly. “So—sorry if I’ve been awful.”

Derek felt bad for being annoyed with him. “I understand. My grades are important to me, too. I think we’ll both be happier if we keep that in mind when we’re arguing about stuff.” 

Stiles sat back, looking startled; his flush deepened. “Okay, super mature. You make me feel like a brat,” he laughed.

“Sometimes you are.” Derek smiled to let him know he was joking. “I have two siblings. Conflict resolution is a survival skill.” 

Stiles sighed wistfully. “I wish I had siblings.”

“Eh,” Derek said, smiling when it made Stiles laugh. Maybe they could figure out how to get along now. 

By the time Scott and Allison showed up, they were arguing so loudly over DC vs Marvel that a manager came out to ask them to please keep it down.

Derek stayed silent after that, mortified. He’d never been scolded in public by an adult that wasn’t his own parent before. 

“Dude, don’t look so upset,” Stiles said gleefully. “I get told to shut up at least once every time I’m in public.”

“It’s true,” Scott said, laughing when Stiles elbowed him. 

“It’s _rude_ ,” Derek mumbled.

“There’s only three other people here,” Stiles scoffed. “And we shut up when they asked us to. Eat your pizza.”

Allison smiled and started telling a story about her last day at the archery range. 

 

Laura was already outside when the finished eating, watching them from the car with her brows lifted. 

Scott and Allison walked ahead, holding hands with their heads bent together, giggling.

“Oh, I guess you have to go,” Stiles said, noticing Laura. “Um, right. See you Monday! Scott, wait up!” He bolted off before Derek could reply.

“You were supposed to go _home_ ,” Derek snapped.

Laura laughed. “Oh, chill. I just got here. Fifteen minutes ago.” She grinned. “That sure looked like a date to _me,_ Derek.”

He flushed and glowered at her. “What’re you talking about? Scott and Allison were there, too!” 

She smirked. “I actually thought you were on the date with the girl? But it’s nice to know where your mind is.” She leaned through the window to look at where Stiles, Scott, and Allison were walking down the sidewalk toward the movie theater together. 

Derek threw his shoe at her. He didn’t even remember taking it off, just realizing as it sailed toward her face that he was going to be in a lot of trouble.

He got grounded for the rest of the weekend, but it was worth it when Laura drove the whole way home with a muddy shoe print on her face. 

 

They had to dissect a rat for their next project in biology. Derek wasn’t pleased, but he could do it. Unfortunately, he didn’t think Stiles was going to make it. 

“This is barbaric,” he hissed. “They shouldn’t make us do this—cut up poor, little-”

“They’re not little,” Derek cut in, remembering Laura’s dissections. He held his hands about a foot apart. “They have to be big enough to see the parts easily.”

Stiles went green.

Derek squinted at him. “You aren’t going to puke, are you?”

“No!” Stiles snapped. 

Scott looked worried as they lined up to go to the lab. 

“Alright,” Alverez called when they reached the lab. “Partner groups, pair up with another group. I want four people per rat. If you feel sick at any point, please move to the center of the room to get your breath back. I want everyone to participate though.” She shot a sharp look around the room. “You’ll be graded individually, so don’t try to stand back and not participate.” 

Stiles moaned quietly. 

“Are you okay?” Scott whispered. 

Stiles caught Derek’s eye, then looked away. “Yeah,” he muttered. “Fine.”

“If you say so. Me and Danny will group with you and Derek, okay?”

Things got worse from there. Stiles ripped two pairs of gloves and got scolded by Mrs. Alverez to be serious; he was pale and sweaty, and by the time they had their rat, his eyes were a bit glassy. Unlike the others who were squeamish, he was getting quieter with his fear. It was a little frightening to see. 

“Maybe you should just…stand back, while we-” Derek began.

“No! I’m getting graded for my work. I’m fine, Hale,” he growled. He did not look fine.

Danny shrugged. “Well, it’s just a participation grade,” he reasoned. 

Scott opened the bag the rat was sealed in.

Stiles grimaced and looked away. “Okay,” he said, strangled. 

“So, we’ll do most of the work,” Derek said, catching on. “You can do the least, um—you can just do something simple, that way you participated, and we’ll finish it.”

Stiles let out a breath. “Okay. That sounds good. Thanks.” 

“Sure.” Danny made the first cut while Stiles was looking out the window taking shallow breaths. 

“So what, um, what should I do?” he asked, turning back carefully. 

“Uh,” Scott started, looking alarmed.

Danny said, quite calmly like he thought he was helping, “You can pin the skin flap back.”

Stiles hit the floor on ‘ _skin flap_ ’. 

The class shouted in shock at the same time, while Derek, Scott, and Mrs. Alverez scrambled to see if he was okay. He sat up looking woozy. “Sorry,” he said dizzily. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to finish this.”

Mrs. Alverez sighed over Derek’s shoulder. “Always one fainter. Well, he’s your partner, Hale. Take him to the nurse. You two can complete a separate project to make up the points for this one, okay?”

Derek nodded tersely, helping Stiles to his feet. 

“Oh, man, we’re going to fail!” Stiles wailed when they got to the hallway.

“No we are not,” Derek said grimly. “We’re going to do a project about online dissections so thorough that she’ll use it for as an example of good work for the rest of her _career._ ”

Stiles snickered and almost tipped over. “Sorry, still a little dizzy. You’re cute when you get all stubborn—oops.” He grimaced and tried to pull his arm out of Derek’s, but he had a vice grip on him. “Dude, let go, you have to give me a chance to protect my face before you punch me,” he whined.

Derek rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to _punch_ you. I just-” He looked down at his feet and let go of his arm. He had to grab him again before he fell. “I think you’re cute, too, is all.”

Stiles brightened. “Oh! That’s good. Awesome. Hey, could you wait out here for a sec?” He bolted into the boys’ bathroom.

Derek hesitated. “Are you getting sick?” he called, leaning toward the opening.

Stiles made a pitiful noise, then called, “No.”

Derek rolled his eyes again and went in. “We better go to the nurse so you can go home.”

“Don’t come _in_ here, you can’t see me _puking_ , I’ve only just fooled you into liking me. Don’t ruin the illusion yet.”

“We can go on a date on Saturday if you let me help you,” Derek wheedled. 

Stiles sighed and unlatched his stall. “Fine, but no changing your mind after my dad picks me up.”

Derek frowned. “Okay…”

“Promise.”

“I promise.”

 

Stiles’s dad was the county sheriff. Derek was probably going to get shot, and then Laura would sell his stuff and buy that stupid Camaro she’d been trying to talk Talia into getting her. 

Stiles smiled and waved at him from the passenger seat of the sheriff’s cruiser, and Derek decided it was worth it.


End file.
